The aesthetics of Dalit writing.

Savarna critics are of the opinion that Dalit Literature must be evaluated strictly as Litertaure as that is how the reader is going to perceive it. Criticism of Dalit texts must not give room to any extra literary traditions and it should be performed on the basis of universal theories and literary criterias. Limbale is opposed to this view of the Savarna critics as he feels that middle class criticism can never do justice to Dalit Literature which is the literature of the oppressed and the discriminated factions of the society.

A major debate which comes up while discussing Dalit literature is centered around the monopoly of Dalit Writers when it comes to penning Dalit Literature. The Savarna critics such as Kavi Anil and Vidyadhar Pundalik are of the opinion that Dalit Literature can be written be anyone through the power of imagination that can envision the suffering of the Dalits and give it literary expression. Critics such as Nirmalkumar Phadkule and Narhar Kurundkar have gone as far as to say that even a Savarna can create Dalit literature and the writer’s status as an untouchable is not necessary for the production of this stream of writing. However, Limbale opines that it is impossible for a non-Dalit to write Dalit Literature as this Literature is the product of Dalit consciousness that is shaped by the lived experiences of Dalit, peppered by their pain, suffering and feeling of rebellion and anger. A non Dalit cannot possibly imagine all of this and be able to write an authentic account on the Dalits.

Another major debate which surrounds Dalit criticism is about the artistic standards or the aesthetic yardsticks that must be employed to understand this literature. According to critics such as P.S. Rege and Balkrishna Kawthekar, it is wrong of Dalit Literature to demand separate criterion for aesthetic evaluation as they feel that universal values cannot be refuted and if the universal aesthetic principles are not being adhered to, then Dalit Literature will lose a proper framework of evaluation. However, another school of thought advocates that every genre of Literature is different fro other hence a mechanistic critical tradition cannot be applied to Literature across the world. Since Dalit Literature is unique in its insistence of social upliftment and the realistic portrayal of Dalit experiences of pain and suffering along with voicing Dalit rebellion; as opposed to emphasis on beauty and pleasure, one must develop different artistic standards for of evaluation for such literature. Artistic craft does not assume an important place in Dalit Literature and the message forwarded by the text is given a higher position, hence artlessness can be considered a virtue of Dalit Literature, thus necessitating the need of separate aesthetic criterion. If this demand of Dalit writers would be fulfilled then faulty criticism by Savarna critics that views Dalit Literature as whiny and aggressive will not exist.

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